Category Archives: Political Astrology

World events tend to provide especially clear examples of astrological patterns. The chart for a declaration of war, an economic crash or a terrorist attack will normally contain fewer variables and mixed signals than natal astrology. This is because an individual person is generally a combination of a wide variety of personality traits and influences that manifest over many decades, but (for example) the morning of September 11, 2001 in New York City is primarily a snapshot of a single major occurrence.

While viewing the chart for the recent Paris terrorist attacks* (on November 13, 2015), I noticed an aspect of less than three degrees between Mars and the nodes (i.e. Rahu and Ketu)**. The September 11, 2001 chart, analyzed in this post, includes an aspect of less than one degree between Mars and the nodes.

Since I wondered how consistent this sort of placement was in the charts of major terrorist attacks, I looked up the July 7, 2005 London attacks, as well. The day of the London attacks included Mars aspecting the nodes by less than one-and-a-half degrees. To put this information in context, an aspect of three degrees or less between Mars and the nodes only occurs for an average of less than two weeks per year.

Just like every person has his or her own birth chart, each event also has its own chart. The 9/11 chart paints a very specific portrait of what happened that morning.

Ketu and Mars are within a single degree of each other in Sagittarius, located in the 4th house, which is the portion of the zodiac that represents one’s innermost feelings and sense of home or belonging.

Every planet has the potential for a positive, life-affirming representation or a challenging, dark representation, and Mars directly connects to action, whether in the form of an athlete winning a gold medal, somebody committing a murder, or just a working man finding the energy to get through the day. Notably, Mars also represents soldiers, who at their best exemplify bravery and heroism, yet at their worst may follow destructive orders without questioning them.

Ketu, which is depicted without a head in Vedic mythology, represents the part of us that is pre-critical thought. That’s a beautiful thing when it relates to meditative states and the sort of spiritual understanding that goes beyond words, but not so great when it relates to primitive feelings and habits that remain unexamined. Ketu also specifically represents traditional cultures.

In my original analysis of Trump, written about six weeks ago, I profiled him in a general sense and looked at his campaign somewhat briefly from an astrological perspective. Since Trump is still going strong as a candidate and the transits of Jupiter and Rahu, along with a shift in antardasha (sub-period) for Trump will affect his fortunes in the coming months, it seemed like time to write an update that’s more specifically focused on his Presidential run.

Trump officially shifts from Rahu mahadasha (major period)/Moon antardasha to Rahu mahadasha/Mars antardasha on October 28. However, the effects of dashas become noticeable for a while leading up to their “official” change-over date, so Trump’s Mars has likely already begun the process of “taking over” from his Moon. While Trump’s 10th-house Rahu has been his mahadasha planet for almost two decades now, coinciding with his period of greatest fame but also exacerbating egotism and obsessive desires, his recent Moon antardasha, which began in April, hasn’t been very helpful for him. In other words, Trump’s success the past few months has actually been in spite of some astrological difficulties that are beginning to fade away as time passes.

While Trump’s Rahu, located in the 10th House of status and career, is in close conjunction with the Sun, which represents authority and power, his Moon is debilitated and located in the challenging fourth pada of Jyestha nakshatra. Of course, nothing – in life or astrology – is ever that simple, and Trump’s Moon does benefit from a strong dispositor (i.e. it’s in a sign ruled by Mars, which is a good planet for Trump) and an opposition aspect to his powerful Rahu-Sun conjunction. Still, Trump’s Moon is one of his chart’s more difficult features.

However, Trump’s Mars is much more comfortable, so to speak, as it’s located in Magha nakshatra, which is symbolized by a throne. Located within three degrees of Trump’s Leo Ascendant, his Mars is prominently placed and connected, along with his Ascendant, to the nakshatra most symbolic of royalty and the ruling class. Not only that, but Magha specifically relates to the act of initially taking the throne and beginning one’s rule.

While many people have planets in Magha and, of course, don’t become kings (or Presidents), the symbolism often relates to some sort of increase in status and/or authority. When I first explored Trump’s Presidential chances, I felt he had a real shot as long as he could remain a relevant candidate until promising astrological factors such as the antardasha of his Mars in Magha and transits of Jupiter and Rahu over his 1st House kicked in. (Jupiter’s there now and Rahu’s a few months away.)

At this point, I think we’re almost through the most obvious “danger zone” period for Trump’s campaign and it looks like he’ll be in the running long enough to benefit from a promising astrological stretch leading up to and through the election.

Donald Trump is out to an early lead in polling for the Republican Presidential nomination, and just about everywhere one turns people from either major party (or neither major party, for that matter) seem worked up about it and insistent he’s a joke candidate with no real chance; yet, he’s not just ahead, but way ahead of any other Republican candidate, as of the timing of this article. To be fair, Trump’s disapproval ratings are far higher than the other candidates, too. He’s a big personality who often evokes “love him or hate him” reactions, but he’s already affected the race and proven to be more than a sideshow.

What makes Trump’s Presidential aspirations interesting from an astrological perspective is that a study of his chart strongly suggests the best is yet to come for him and – wait for it – that period of his life is scheduled to begin in November, 2016. That’s election month. Of course, that doesn’t mean he’ll win – for one thing, he has to remain a viable candidate for more than a year just to have a shot – but it’s certainly an interesting coincidence.

Trump’s strongest planet is a near-stationary Jupiter, which was moving at less than 1% relative speed at his time of birth. (Near-stationary planets in one’s natal chart are often extremely important and powerful.) His Mercury in its own sign of Gemini, located in the 11th house of fulfillment of desires, social circle and networking, has surely played a major role in his success, as well.

However, Trump’s overall life-path may be most defined by his 4th house-10th house axis, which includes both luminaries (i.e. the Moon and the Sun, which is also his Ascendant lord) in a tight opposition orb to each other and in close conjunction with Ketu and Rahu, respectively. This indicates Trump’s career in real estate, as the 4th house represents the home environment (including homes, in general, not just one’s own living space) and the 10th house represents career and status. However, Trump’s near-stationary Jupiter suggests that he was destined to be “larger than life” in some way or another, even if his other planets were in different locations. The role of his 4th house-10th house axis wasn’t to ensure his success (which his Jupiter and Mercury had already heavily weighted the deck in favor of), but instead to point to the area where he would apply most of his energy and resources.

And in November, 2016, Trump’s Jupiter mahadasha (major period) begins. Jupiter is likely Trump’s most important planet, but he hasn’t even experienced its mahadasha yet. This mahadasha should be highly positive and benefit him in a number of ways, no matter what happens in his current campaign; however, he’ll have to remain a relevant Presidential candidate long enough for Jupiter’s energy to kick in or the timing will be too late to help his chances in the 2016 election. In the meantime, upcoming transits of a number of important planets and a change in antardasha (minor period) from Moon to Mars all seem lined up to benefit Trump in the near future.

Yet, Trump may still encounter obstacles relating to much of the populace, as a substantial part of his personality seems driven by a need for expansion and power. While Trump’s Jupiterian strengths have led to positive relationships with his grown children, given him an instinctive sense of generosity at times, and helped him to employ thousands of people, some of the less desirable manifestations of that Jupiterian energy, as channeled through his current Rahu mahadasha – such as potentially harmful expansion, over-the-top self-promotion and a bombastic attitude – have also played a role in defining his identity to the American public.

However, he’s just finishing up his Rahu mahadasha, which began all the way back in 1998… and that’s the sort of thing Rahu can do to people, especially if they’re prone to such tendencies before entering its mahadasha. Rahu, the north node of the moon, focuses on more, more, more; it represents insatiable desires and, in Hindu mythology, is depicted as a head without a body. Picture that image for a moment – it’s always hungry, not equipped to digest experiences or process them, only to continue craving them. As that sort of craving is quite a motivator, (albeit an inherently unsatisfying one), Rahu plays a substantial role in the lives of many people who are famous and/or achieve worldly success. Rahu’s also hell on impulse-control, which fits with Trump’s tendency to speak first and think later. And if he seems obsessed with status and career, well, he has Rahu in his 10th house, which represents those very things.